Thursday, July 30, 2009

Not gonna ruin the rest of my life

This couple flipped their camper on the Turnpike Monday.

It's not uncommon to meet people when I'm out on assignment who really touch me or inspire me. But it's not what I expected when I was sent to photograph an accident on the Turnpike. This couple had flipped their camper on the first day of a six-week vacation they'd planned. Here's the photo and caption that published in the local section:


They were lovely people, very willing to chat with me and tell me about the 1961 restored vintage camper as towers turned it on its side and strapped it to the back of a flatbed truck. "It's a lot of fun-- or it was," Isabel told me.

As I was leaving the scene of the accident I thanked them for their time, and said I was sorry the accident ruined their vacation. "It's not gonna ruin the rest of my life, though," Alan said, and hugged his wife. I snapped a quick photo as they shared this impossibly sweet moment in a ditch on the side of I-76 as cars sped by in the summer heat. They said they were lucky the truck that was towing the camper didn't flip, as well. "With an attitude like that," I told them, "Nothing's gonna ruin the rest of your life."

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